Collapsible paper box



Aug. 22, 1933. D. c. JACOBS COLLAPSIBLE PAPER BOX Filed Nov. 25, 1951 INVENTOR gmi wy I ATI' Patented Aug. 22, 1933 PATENT. OFFIC v 1,923,928 COLLAPSIBLE PAPER BOX Daniel 0. Jacobs, New York, N. Y;

Application November 25, 1931 Serial No. 577,270

5 Claims. 7 (01; 229-1 able strips or flaps to strengthen and stiffen the The present improvement is particularly novel in that it provides an assembled collapsible paper box, the side walls of which are already secured together, and all the user needs to do in setting up the box is to open the side walls and fold down the bottom and the box is then ready for filling. The collapsed box is readily packed for shipment and requiresno special skillto set up.

The main object, therefore, is to provide a collapsible paper box for berries or the like, formed from a single punched blank delineated With score lines for the rectangular side Walls and a reverse folded bottom strip for supporting an integral bottom, the side walls being in a continuous strip and preferably secured together at one corner by a single line of stitching or other suitable means.

The reverse folded bottom supportingside wall portions are formed from a continuous narrow strip separated from the side walls-by acontinuous score line, but since its free ends are liable to flare away from the adjacent side walls, a further object in the present improvement is to provide a tongue piece extending from one end of the bottom supporting stripadapted to be secured split or. crack at the corners, because of the doublethickness, therefore, afurther object is to pro vide for punching out or removing material at the corner, so as to prevent cracking or breaking thereof when thebox is foldedor set up.

In order to facilitate folding and collapsing the box and to keep down the cost of production, relatively thin strong board is preferably used and in order to strengthen the bottointo supportthe contents of the box, it is desirable to provide suite bottom. These flaps or strips are preferably formed as tongues or flaps on the sides of the bottom section and are adapted to slide in between the bottom supporting strip and the side walls of the box. In this way they cooperate with the bottom supporting strip to support the bottom of thebox and add rigidity to the box structure when the box is set up.

The preferred form of the collapsible paper box is more particularly shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents the blank from which the collapsible box is formed; Fig. 2 is a smaller View of the completed box in collapsed form; Fig. 3 is a top. plan View of the box set up; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section on the line 4.- l of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section on the line 55 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a detail of one corner of the assembled box, as seen from the bottom; Fig. '7 isa fragmentary detail of a slight modification; and Fig. 8 is a modified form with a cover section. I

Referring to thedrawing;it will be seen that the collapsible folding paper box ,is. formed by punching and scoring a single paper or cardboard blank, substantially as shown in Fig. v1, where the side walls A of the box are shown as punched out in av continuous strip with an end flap B the blank being formed with a continuous narrow strip C along one edge, which when reverse folded, is adapted to form a support along the side walls for the bottom of the box. The wall portions of the bottom supporting strip C and the side walls A are separated or defined on the blank by transverse score lines D,. and by a longitudinal score line E, the latter being between the side walls and the bottom supporting strip C.

Continuous with the bottom supporting strip 0 and located between two of the score lines D, D, outlining one of the side walls of the box and the corresponding wall portion of the bottom supporting strip, a bottom section F is punched out integral. with the rest of the blank and separated from the bottom supporting strip by a score line G arranged to permit the bottom section to be folded down between the side walls, when the box is set up, and thereafter supported by the bottom supporting strip C. 1

In order to stiifen the bottom section vF and prevent collapse thereof when loaded with the fruit, berries or other contents when the box is filled, integral tongues or flaps H and K extend from the edges-of and are foldable down at right angles to thebottom section F along fold lines L and M.

by dotted lines in Fig. 5.

As will be seen more particularly in Figs. 2 and 5, the free ends of the side walls A of the box are secured together by a single line of stitches or staples N passing through the flap B and one side wall, the walls being stitched together after the strip C is reverse folded inward along the walls of the box. The flap B is preferably folded under the end wall A as shown in Fig. 3, the staples passing through the side wall andthe flap B,,as indicated.

It will be seen that preferably the lower staple N also passes through the one end of the strip C and through a tongue piece 0 projecting from the other end of the strip C, as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The tongue piece 0 prevents the end of strip C from flaring away fromthe wall too far. From the drawings, it will be seen that the outer tongue piece or stiffening strip K on the bottom section F is cut away at its outer edge to clear the lower stitch or staple N, as indicated When the bottom supporting strip C is reverse folded or folded inward to lie along the inside of the respective side walls A of the box, it is obvious that when folding the blank at the fold lines D, the lower outer corners of the box will tend to break because of the excessive strain on the outer layer of material, and to avoid this, some of the material is removed, preferably at the points of intersection of the fold lines D and E, by punching holes P, as indicated in Fig. 1. With the material removed from the corners, the latter can be readily folded, as indicated in Figs. 4, 5 and 8 without splitting the corner of the box.

For storing and shipping, the improved box is collapsed, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, and to set up the box, it is only necessary to open the side walls and push'down the bottom section F to the position shown in Fig. 3, or as more clearly shown in the sectional views in Figs. 4 and 5.

When the bottom section is resting on the bottom supporting strip, as in full lines in Figs. 4 and 5, the side flaps II,'for stiffening the bottom of the box, lie between the side walls A and the adjacent portions of the bottom supporting strip C, as will be seen in Fig. 5. The front flap K as the bottom is pushed home will slide down andbe positioned between the bottom supporting strip and the corresponding side wall A, which, in the present instance, is associated with the wall flap B, as will be seen in Fig. 4.-. It also will be seen from Fig. 4 that, since the bottom section is hinged to the bottom supporting strip C, the latter will serve not only to support the bottom, but to stiffen that edge of it.

As an important feature of the improvement, it will be seen that by making the bottom supporting strip C continuous, the respective wall portions of the bottom supporting strip C are closely held against the inside walls of the box at all the corners because the different portions of the strip are united, except where the free ends of the strip meet, and here this is effected by means of the tongue piece 0, as previously indicated, and shown in Fig. 5, that is, the ends of the bottom supporting strip are held'in proper relation to the side wall to receive and properly N support the bottom section.

For boxes of larger size or when the sidewalls are of greater length than the end walls of the 7 box, it may be desirable to prevent the center of the respective wall portions of the bottom supporting strip C from bulging out excessively, and for this purpose, a staple or stitch Q may be placed in position to hold the strip C against places frequently have occasion to send out cooked food containers, such as paper cups or dishes, which usually are provided with converging walls, orlilze the frustuin of a cone, as indicated by dotted lines U in Fig. 8. For protecting such containers, it is preferable to send them out in boxes, and for this purpose, it is proposed to cut a circular hole V in the bottom F of a smaller and flatter collapsible box, of the type just described, the hole V being of such diameter as to support the paper container in about the position shown in Fig. 8.

With either form of box, it is sometimes desirable to providea lid or cover for the contents 1 lid section is preferably provided with stiffening flaps or strips W similar to the flaps or strips l-l and K on the bottom section F.

From the above, the operation of assembling and setting up the improved box will be readily understood. As manufactured andpacked for delivery or shipment, the box is in the flat or knocked-down condition indicated in Fig. 2, and

to set up the box for use the side walls A are opened and the bottom section F thrust down into the position shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 8, with the side stiffening flaps H and K located between the side walls and the bottom supporting strips C, in which position the side walls of the box are rigidly held in position and the bottom is stiffened and supported on all sides. When a cover is provided, as shown in Fig. 8, it is adapted to be folded down over the contents of the box substantially in the same manner as the bottom section is folded down.

While the preferred form of box has been described and the preferred construction shown, it

will be understood that various modifications in the specific details of construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:-

1. A collapsible paper box of the character described, comprising four side walls integral in a continuous strip, a continuous upturned strip extending around the lower part of the walls for supporting the bottom of the box, said bottom being integral with and extending from the edge of said strip along one wall, a flap extending from one wall at a corner of the box and overlapped by the adjacent wall, a tongue piece separated from said flap and'formed as an extension of the upturned strip and lying between said flap and edge to provide a clear space between the upper 1 part of said bottom supporting strip and said flap, said bottom having down-turned flanges entering between .the walls and the associated sections of the upturned strip, one of said bottom flanges being cut away to-enter the spaceabove the cut-away portion of said tongue piece,

and staples securing said flap and the adjacent wall together, one of said staples passing through 7 said tongue piece and theend of theoverlaying which are of the same width, to come together with their upper and lower edges in the same plane.

4. The collapsible paper box as in claim 1, wherein a staple stitch, located between the corners of the box, passes through the lower part of the wall and said upturned strip to prevent the latter from flaring out, and the cooperating bottom flange has a cut out for clearing said staple.

5. The collapsible paper box as in claim 1 wherein said flange bottom is provided with an opening for supporting therein the bottom of a vessel or other receptacle.

. DANIEL C. JACOBS. 

